Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-08-05

cannot so forward; lie cannot so back, cx
eert Few feet. Above him the perren
dicn,ar loc!s rises 10 the hcipat of ten fee
before the :oi, Of the cliff is gniMe!. 1t il
smooth except few Slight pro; Elections here
and there. No mortal could climb it
! Mark knows this, and yet he feels that HI
| must Try. He cannot long remain in hi;
present position.
Was this beautiful day and his life Il
end together? Had he brought this girl
| whom he had intended soon to ask to be
his wife-to this lonely, isolated spot only
to witness his exit from the world?-the
world in which he had hoped to accom-
plish SO much. The thought of death, wher
In close proximity to it, is dreadful thing,
especially 10 young person.
Kitty Mclaughlin, when she realized
tho catastrophe which had overtaken hel
lover, was SO appalled, that she could neither
speak nor move. She stood like one para
lyzed until the voice of Mark, calling to
her not to be alarmed, brought her back to
the world of reason.
Kitty was not ono TO remain long inactive
if there was anything she could do. Com
ing to the top Of the cliff, above his head,
she cried:
80, Mark" (These was no "Mr. Hilton"
now. On the verge of death as he was,
Mark noted this with a thrill of pleasure
"Can you hold Oh til can get assistance?"
Mark made a rapid calculation. Three
miles to the nearest house, and the rough
est possible path. 1t would take at least
an hour for help to reach him. Too we'll
he knew that he could not retain his hold
for half that time. He was already much
exhausted and becoming dizzy. Itrequired
great effort 10 keep from falling.
"No," said Mark, mournfully. ave
must shout for help, and il no one comes
must attempt to-scale-th lift"
The clear. agonizea voice of the girl rose
on the air, but was nearly drowned by the
ever-increasing roar of the sea. Marks
deep voice penetrated but little farther.
Neither could be heard half
mile. Their cries re-echoed from
cra;s to crag until there seemed
to be score of voices calling. A score
calilng-bGt not one replying!
After few minutes spent in this way it
became evident to both that it was useless.
Mark was growing weaker. He felt the
necessity of making his perilous effort be-
fore losing more strength.
Without word he lays hold of some
sharp points of rock above him and at
tempts to ascend. When up about three
feet his foot suddenly slips, and. half un-
conscious, he feels himself roughly sliding
down the face of the cliff. Throwing out
his hands by instinct, one of them reaches
q tissure in the rock and he finds himself,
faint and breathless, in his original posi-
ton. Nothing but miracle saved him
from going over the precipice.
Kitty, hearing the noise, cried out in an
agony of apprehension.
at is no use, called poor Mark; % cat
could not climb it-much less man. I
must remain here until 1 fall from ex-
haustion, unless somebody comes. And
what could they do if they did,"
Kitty was in despair. Must she remain
there doing nothing and see her lover
perish9 She never realized before how
she loved him, or, indeed, that she loved
him at all. Now it was all revealed to her.
And she the cause of his PERIL A pang of
anguish passed through her when she
thought of this.
What should she do? She looked about
wildly.
All! The milkWeed
The hill was covered with it. Her knowl-
edge Of botany was not useless.
Running to the verge of the cliff, she
cried out:
"What is the longest possible time you
can hold on?"
Twenty or twenty-five minutes" said
Mark, feebly.
"Then for Heavens sake, cling!"
Rushing back, she pulled up score of
the largest stocks of millweed. Selecting
one, she rolled the fiber into q cord or
string. How often she had seen her
teacher do this when botanizing! She
knew the cord thus formed to be very
strong, capable Of supporting at least
twenty-five pounds. -Four of these twisted
together made a substantial rope, but they
were so re1y short-not more than two
feet in length!
Milkweed after milkweed succumbed to
her deft fingers, until at length, by fire.
quent splicing, she had a rope ten feet
long and four strands strong. 1t would
easily bear one hundred pounds. This
was enough--his own efforts, oided by the
projecting rocks and assures, would ac-
complish the rest.
Kitty, in spite Of her celebrity, was nearly
twenty minutes manufacturing the rope.
She knew that Marks strength must be
most gone.
Hearing her approach the brink alone
the poor fellow lost oil courage, eupposing
her unknown mission had failed.
GOOD bye, Kitty, L"
20 mark! Hold on! Hold on minute
longer!" and she flung him the rope.
He summoned up all his strength. See
ing the rope he took it in his hands and
said with surprise:
Twill it hold?"
eyes; your whole weight, probably. But
that will not be necessary. Let me know
when you are ready"
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